Chapter 46: Sky Island Birka
A Sky Island is an island formed from island clouds.
These clouds resemble the solidified clouds from Doraemon that can be walked on after using a gadget. It is a kingdom in the sky built upon clouds.
This dreamlike quality made Sky Island appear somewhat romantic in Xia Lin's eyes.
The people living on Sky Island generally wear white ornaments resembling angel wings. Their tools are special clouds and shells that originate from the White-White Sea.
The White-White Sea lies more than 10,000 meters above sea level and is an ocean in the sky. Although the density of the cloud sea is very low, there are still living creatures within it, and Sky Island lifeforms naturally differ in body structure from those of the Blue Sea.
To cross the Red Line, Xia Lin directly used Ama no Murakumo to carry the ship into the sky. Kaido could lift Onigashima with flame clouds, so lifting a mere ship was nothing to Xia Lin.
A few days earlier, he had exchanged pirates for bounties at a Marine base in the New World. Adding the bounty money to the valuables already on board, there were now 230 million Berries on the ship.
This large sum made Yuriko extremely happy.
Although she did not really understand the exchange rate between Berries and the gold and silver currency of Wano Country, since it exceeded 200 million, such a number must represent a considerable fortune.
Zimbabwean Dollar: yes, yes, yes.
At this point, Xia Lin was the only man left on the ship.
Originally, he had planned to have the abducted women disembark at the Marine base, but most of them chose not to leave.
For women like them who had been captured, their villages on their home islands had long since been wiped out by pirates, and their families had all died at pirate hands. Even if they left, they had nowhere to return to.
Some had been captured from merchant ships or other vessels. Their families might still be alive, but they felt they no longer had the face to return to their hometowns.
Even if they did return, they would likely face endless rumors and gossip. Pity and contempt would follow them everywhere, constantly reminding them of the hell they had endured.
Yuriko felt deep sympathy for them and pleaded with Xia Lin to take them along. The daimyo's mansion was large, and many tasks such as cleaning and garden maintenance required manpower.
Bringing these women back and giving them a peaceful place to live, a completely new environment, would allow them to forget their tragic past. That alone would be enough to earn their gratitude.
As for the female pirates who had belonged to the Night Fire Pirates or had been captured later, Xia Lin had branded them with the Serpent's Seal. They would all be sent to the Pleasure Quarter or serve as official courtesans.
The ship sailed through the clouds. Normally, the density of the White-White Sea is insufficient to support ships from the Blue Sea, but Ama no Murakumo naturally had no such limitation.
The Sky Island they reached this time was not Birka, but another Sky Island that did not appear in the original story.
There are actually many such Sky Islands. Island clouds are scattered, and many Sky Islands are extremely small, or even drift aimlessly like ships, blown about by the wind.
Although Birka is located in the first half of the Grand Line, its position is relatively far to the south.
Even with a rough map, Birka was not easy to find. After all, it was never very famous; if not for someone named Enel appearing later, few people would likely know of it.
After spending a considerable amount of time, the group finally arrived at Birka a few days later.
Birka was neither especially large nor particularly small. When the residents saw unfamiliar ships approaching across the clouds, they immediately became alert, and many adult men gathered along the shore.
In this era, Sky Islands are not free from pirates. In fact, many pirates themselves originate from Sky Islands.
Although Xia Lin's group did not fly a pirate flag, they were still treated with caution. Many pirates avoid being attacked before docking by using ordinary sails, only to suddenly launch an assault.
Pirates are inherently cruel and despicable; it is not a noble profession.
However, Xia Lin was not a pirate. His goal was the Rumble-Rumble Fruit that might exist on Birka, so there was no need to come into conflict with the Skypieans. He planned to disguise himself as a merchant and trade with them, gaining the opportunity to remain docked at Birka for an extended period.
Although the trade was merely a pretext, Xia Lin did genuinely need some of Sky Island's special products.
Sky Island currency inflation was even more severe than that of the Blue Sea's Berries. On a previous Sky Island, Xia Lin had used tens of millions of surplus Berries to exchange for Sky Island currency, Extol, also known as Ike.
Forty years later, the rapidly depreciating Berries would have a much higher face value than Extol, let alone the current Berries.
As the ship approached, the Skypieans grew nervous, but they soon noticed that almost only women were moving about on the deck.
"No men?" the captain of Birka's Guard Corps asked in confusion. "Or are all the men hiding below deck?"
Although individual strength in this world can sometimes surpass that of an entire army, such powerful individuals are not common. Seeing a deck filled mostly with women slightly lowered their guard.
Before long, the ship docked.
Xia Lin was the first to step ashore.
The Guard Corps captain's expression immediately turned serious when he saw Xia Lin.
On Sky Island, Observation Haki is known as Mantra. Although not everyone possesses it, even ordinary warriors like this captain have heightened awareness because of it.
He clearly sensed the terrifying aura emanating from the man before him.
This was not an aura an ordinary person could possess. It made him almost unable to move, and even the hands gripping his spear trembled uncontrollably. Still, remembering his duty, he forced himself to ask,
"Who… who exactly are you people?"
"Don't be nervous. We are a merchant caravan from the Blue Sea," Xia Lin replied.
This answer did not fully dispel the other party's vigilance, but Xia Lin's orderly and restrained demeanor caused the captain to relax slightly.
In truth, the Guard Corps captain did not completely believe Xia Lin's words, but he had no choice. Sky Islands like Birka do not possess especially strong defenses, and if they truly faced pirates, they would stand no chance.
Whatever Xia Lin's true identity might be, as long as he did not intend to plunder the island, that was enough.